February 25, 2016


News Clips For The Day


http://www.npr.org/2016/02/24/467822640/risky-shadow-banks-become-campaign-fodder-for-democrats

Risky Shadow Banks Become Campaign Fodder For Democrats
JIM ZARROLI
Updated February 24, 20168:48 AM ET
Published February 24, 20164:45 AM ET

Photograph -- Sen. Bernie Sanders has emphasized shadow banking less than Hillary Clinton, but he maintains that his overall platform is much tougher on Wall Street than hers. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Too-big-to-fail banks are generating plenty of anger from the public, but former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the real risks to the financial system lie in the vast, lightly regulated corners of the economy called shadow banks.

Under fire for her ties to Wall Street, Clinton increasingly has talked about the need to crack down on the hedge funds, private equity firms, money market funds and derivatives traders that perform many of the same functions as banks without being regulated the same way.

While shadow banks like these are more heavily regulated than they were before the 2008 financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund warned in October 2014 that their unchecked growth "could compromise global financial stability."

Clinton's opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, has emphasized shadow banking less, but maintains that his overall platform is much tougher on Wall Street than Clinton's.

Coined by former PIMCO economist Paul McCulley, the term "shadow banks" usually refers to institutions, such as money market funds, which take in trillions of dollars in assets from customers and then lend much of it out, by buying short-term debt or purchasing bonds, for example.

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Unlike commercial banks, the holdings in such entities aren't insured by the federal government, which means that in a crisis, they may be susceptible to runs. They also don't have access to a key source of liquidity for banks, the Federal Reserve's discount window, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

"They're sold and marketed as incredibly stable funds where you put in a dollar, you get a dollar out. But there's no guarantee of that, and there's no deposit insurance of that, as there is in a regulated bank," says Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets, a nonprofit group that advocates for reform in the financial sector.

In 2008, the Treasury Department was forced to insure the holdings of publicly offered money market funds, after a fund that had been caught up in the Lehman Brothers disaster "broke the buck" by paying back only 97 cents on the dollar.

Hedge funds represent a similar risk, says Lawrence White, professor of economics at New York University's Stern School of Business.

"The money you put into a hedge fund is not guaranteed at all by anybody, and if you're worried that your hedge fund is going to start losing money, you may start pulling that money out," White says.

While hedge funds and money market funds are usually too small to cause systemic problems for the economy, large bank holding companies are another story: Many of them engage in shadow banking through their less-regulated subsidiaries.

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, traditional banks tightened credit, and shadow banks increasingly filled the void, shifting the "locus of risks" to less-regulated parts of the industry. That shift could "compromise global financial security," the IMF warned in 2014.

Clinton has warned that focusing too much on breaking up the big banks — something she suggests Sanders does — obscures the bigger threat posed by these shadow banks.

"There were a lot of bad actors" behind the 2008 financial crisis, Clinton said at a Feb. 3 town hall meeting New Hampshire, "and if all you do is look over here, I'm telling you, they're going to be over there in the shadow banking sector just cooking up all kinds of ways to once again put our economy at risk."

She has proposed a number of steps to curb shadow bank activities, such as enhancing reporting requirements for hedge funds and private equity firms and imposing stricter collateral requirements on repurchase agreements, a risky form of short-term debt.

NYU's White says Clinton has a point when she talks about the continuing threat posed by shadow banking, in areas such as money market funds. Even so, he notes, "That shouldn't blind us to the fact that the regulatory system is much tougher and robust today than it was eight years ago. No question in my mind about that."

Global and U.S. regulators have imposed many changes on the banking system, making banks better capitalized and more closely scrutinized than they used to be, White says.

Anat Admati, professor of finance and economics at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, says many regulations are already in place to accomplish the reforms Clinton advocates, but regulators don't always want to enforce them.

"Yes, we know that there are all these risks, but we also have some tools to deal with them right now. So what is she saying to the fact that the regulators are not doing them right now?" said Admati, author of The Bankers' New Clothes: What's Wrong With Banking And What To Do About It.

Clinton campaign officials say she believes some regulations can be strengthened, such as those that apply to the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which is supposed to monitor excessive risk-taking by financial institutions.

A Sanders campaign official called "preposterous and absurd" any suggestion that Clinton's focus on shadow banks might make her a more effective opponent against Wall Street, noting her paid speeches to Goldman Sachs and other firms.

Warren Gunnels, policy director for the Sanders campaign, said Sanders' plans, which include a tax on all Wall Street financial transactions, would be much tougher on financial institutions, including shadow banks, than those proposed by Clinton.

"Bernie is committed to hiring the strongest regulators who will actually implement rules that would be stronger than Clinton's. And Bernie's regulators will actually enforce these rules," Gunnels said.



“Warren Gunnels, policy director for the Sanders campaign, said Sanders' plans, which include a tax on all Wall Street financial transactions, would be much tougher on financial institutions, including shadow banks, than those proposed by Clinton. "Bernie is committed to hiring the strongest regulators who will actually implement rules that would be stronger than Clinton's. And Bernie's regulators will actually enforce these rules," Gunnels said.”

So it’s the relatively unregulated private funds versus the big banks who are also insufficiently regulated, but moreover are allowed to break rules which are in place. Sanders speaks for hiring new regulators who will see that rules are enforced and, in addition, create stronger rules. I’m no economist at all, but I do tend to think that Hillary is part of the more conservative segment of the Democratic Party the “New Democrats,” who essentially compromised with the Republicans on a variety of areas from social welfare and the justice system to probusiness changes. That was all in the aim, supposedly, of “getting something done,” but maybe it was due to their allegiance to “the Koch brothers,” who even that early had begun to squeeze our government. Unfortunately, it includes, I think, her husband, and maybe Obama as well. I want to see not only more action, but new action. I simply don’t trust the business sector to honestly or even successfully manage itself, as conservatives are always saying, “the Market,” you know. I want Sanders to be given a chance to make a real difference with new and better rules and those new enforcers. Hire and fire.



POLITICAL NEWS


http://www.npr.org/2016/02/24/462948346/the-10-states-where-millennials-could-sway-the-election

The 10 States Where Millennials Could Sway The Election
ASMA KHALID
Updated February 24, 201610:34 AM ET
Published February 24, 20169:53 AM ET

Photograph -- A young woman watches poll numbers at Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush's election-night party on Feb. 9 in Manchester, N.H. In the last presidential election, millenials had the lowest voter turnout of any age group.
Scott Eisen/Getty Images

As the presidential race shifted to Nevada with Democratic caucuses last week and Republican caucuses Tuesday night, more young voters had a chance to chime in to the political process. Nevada is a state with a huge young, diverse population.

But there is the perennial question: Do young people matter in politics?

In every recent election, you've probably heard some iteration of the same generational critique: "Young people don't vote."

Millennials (born between 1982 and 2000, according to the Census definition) are the largest generation in the country. With an estimated population of 83.1 million, they now outnumber baby boomers. But, in the last election, they had the lowest voter turnout of any age group.

That's partly because political campaigns aren't tapping into the potential power of young voters, according to Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, the director of CIRCLE, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, at Tufts University.

Kawashima-Ginsberg and her colleagues are eager to increase youth participation — CIRCLE was founded in 2001 as a result of declining youth turnout in the 1990s. This election cycle, they've methodically studied every state to create an empirical index that analyzes where the youth vote could potentially sway the outcome of the presidential election. (See the bottom of this post for more on the methodology.)

They gave states bonus points for implementing election laws that are designed to facilitate voter turnout, such as same-day registration, online registration and preregistration, which allows voters who will be 18 by election day to sign up to vote before they turn 18.

Once the index was computed, CIRCLE then looked at the size of the youth vote relative to the margin of victory in 2012.

The main conclusion for Kawashima-Ginsberg was that young people, when they're actually targeted, can help win elections — especially in these 10 states, ordered from least important to most important in terms of youth vote.

10. Nevada

In Nevada, the margin of victory in the general election is expected to be small, compared to the size of the youth population.

Still, Nevada has struggled with low youth turnout in recent elections, so turning potential into reality is an uphill climb.

Nevada is both racially and educationally diverse. In fact, Census data suggest Nevada will be the next state to flip majority-minority in the country; currently, about 31 percent of the under-30 population is Latino.

Nevada also has a large non-college-educated population, which suggests the youth vote is far more multifaceted than in other states.

"Nevada's young voters ... are more and more likely to register as unaffiliated or independent," said Kawashima-Ginsberg. That may mean fewer young Nevadans will participate in the caucuses, but it also means they're more likely up for grabs in the general election.

9. North Carolina

North Carolina was famously known for its high youth voter turnout in 2008, which swung the state in Barack Obama's favor.

Since then, the state has rolled back a couple of election procedures that are designed to ease the voting process — both same-day registration and preregistration.

Still, the CIRCLE index ranks North Carolina high because the young population has shown it votes differently than the older population. In 2008, for example, exit polls show 76 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds voted for Obama. Every other age group preferred John McCain.

The other defining characteristic is race — 23 percent of the youth population is black. In recent elections, young African-Americans have had the highest voter turnout.

"We've found, particularly, young female black voters turn out in incredibly high rate(s)," said Kawashima-Ginsberg.

Of course, the high turnout in the African-American community was likely linked to the historic election of the country's first black president, and without Barack Obama at the top of the ticket it's unclear whether black voters will participate at equally enthusiastic rates this year.

8. Florida

"It may be counterintuitive to have Florida in the top 10, because as a whole the population in Florida is rather old," said Kawashima-Ginsberg. The state's average age is 41.8.

But she said the Sunshine State scored high on the "election law" index — with preregistration for 16- and 17-year-olds and now online registration.

"Preregistration has been found to have a long-term impact on young people's voter turnout, even after they turn 18 or 30," said Kawashima-Ginsberg.

The other unique factor in Florida is that the state is home to more than 400 higher education institutions; university campuses are critical for voter mobilization, since people who are college-educated tend to vote at higher rates.

7. Virginia

Virginia has a sizable youth voting population — 1.2 million, which is 21.3 percent of the state's population.

Traditionally, Virginia has also experienced high youth voter turnout compared to other states.

Kawashima-Ginsberg says Virginia's relatively high, consistent turnout may be a result of the state's competitiveness in a general election contest.

"People who are young are actually hearing from campaigns over the phones, or they may even get door-knocking at their homes, which is not the case in other non-battleground states," she explained.

6. Wisconsin

During presidential election years, a large percentage of young people in Wisconsin tend to vote. In fact, according to average Census figures from the last three elections, turnout hovered around 60 percent.

Kawashima-Ginsberg says that strong participation is partly because young folks in Wisconsin have characteristics that correlate to high turnout — they're overwhelmingly white, employed and living above the poverty rate.

But, she cautions, Wisconsin's population is aging, and it's being replaced by a more racially diverse population. It's unclear whether these new minority voters will participate at the same rates.

5. Colorado

Colorado has all three laws that CIRCLE notes as being "helpful" to youth voter turnout — same-day registration (enacted in 2013), preregistration for potential voters below 18 (enacted in 2013) and online registration (2009).

Colorado's youth demographic is also the fastest-growing age group in the state. It also appears that youth voter turnout has been rising, as opposed to declining — the opposite of the national trend.

4. Ohio

Ohio has a large number of colleges — 385 institutions of higher education, according to CIRCLE research.

But Kawashima-Ginsberg says Ohio's under-30 population is unique — many have children (26 percent). In fact, of all these 10 states, Ohio has the highest ratio of young people with kids.

As a result, Kawashima-Ginsberg says, the issues that matter to young voters in Ohio may be more diverse — encompassing not only college affordability and jobs, but also health care and early childhood education.

"That might mean there are different places where young people who could vote could be reached out to," said Kawashima-Ginsberg.

She says that's particularly important in Ohio because the election is likely to be tight.

"It's one of the top states when it comes to how small the margin of victory was relative to the youth vote," she said.

CIRCLE's analysis shows that in 2012, the youth vote was about 5.6 times as large as the margin of victory.

3. Pennsylvania

There are a few disparate factors that make Pennsylvania's youth vote unique.

This presidential election cycle, Pennsylvania is introducing online registration, which may make it easier for first-time voters to sign up

Like Florida, the state has more than 400 institutions of higher education.

And, in recent cycles, young voters in Pennsylvania have tilted far more to the left than older folks.

The state also has a sizable black youth population (15 percent) and, in recent elections, young black people have voted at a higher rate than any other race. But, similar to North Carolina, where young black voters were key in 2008, it's unclear if black turnout in Pennsylvania will match previous levels this year.

2. New Hampshire

Young voters have a disproportionately high impact in New Hampshire, and Kawashima-Ginsberg says that's because they've had a high turnout in recent elections.

She attributes the strong turnout to two main factors:

The demographics of New Hampshire's millennial population — a large percentage are college-educated whites, who tend to vote in high numbers.

The system and processes — New Hampshire holds the first primary in the country and allows for same-day registration.

"[New Hampshire] has a specific style of candidate outreach, which gets [candidates] into the community, in people's homes ... so these young people are very likely to have direct contact with presidential candidates," said Kawashima-Ginsberg. "Those things can really enhance the sense of efficacy that young people's votes matter."

1. Iowa

New Hampshire and Iowa ranked almost identically in CIRCLE's index, differing by just 1/1,000th of a point.

The reason the two are so similar is likely because they both benefit from enthusiasm generated during the primary season. Since Iowa is home to the first nominating contest in the country, it's almost inevitable that young people either meet candidates in person or hear about them through TV advertisements.

"Throughout the state, there's just a lot of resources going to outreach," said Kawashima-Ginsberg, and, like in New Hampshire, the side-effects of that outreach linger into the November general election. On average, Census data show that about 60 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds voted in the past three presidential elections in both states. Nationally, about 45 percent of young people voted in the past three elections, and about 35 percent for the two elections before that.

Methodology: CIRCLE used a variety of metrics, including, but not limited to: the percentage of the population under 30, the percentage of 18- to 29-year-olds currently enrolled in college, youth turnout in past presidential elections and the predicted competitiveness of the 2016 race. The index also accounted for the economic health of a state's youth population, since education and wealth tend to predict voter participation.



http://citizensource.com/Politics/Analysis&Polling.htm

CIRCLE -- THE CENTER FOR INFORMATION & RESEARCH ON CIVIC LEARNING AND ENGAGEMENT

“Call for Proposals for Guest Posts on Youth and Political Engagement from the Monkey Cage and CIRCLE --

Research TopicsCall for Proposals for Guest Posts on Youth and Political Engagement from the Monkey Cage and CIRCLE

Call for Proposals for Guest Posts on Youth and Political Engagement from the Monkey Cage and CIRCLE

A blog of the Washington Post, The Monkey Cage uses social science theory and evidence to “make some sense of the circus that is politics.” It was named 2010 Blog of the Year by The Week and a 2012 Best Blog by Time. In partnership with CIRCLE (the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), the Monkey Cage seeks to publish 10 articles on youth voting and political engagement. CIRCLE will expand the reach of the series by drawing the attention of practitioners and policymakers to the articles and their implications.
CIRCLE focuses on young people in the United States, especially those who are marginalized or disadvantaged in political life. CIRCLE’s scholarly research informs policy and practice for healthier youth development and a better democracy. CIRCLE is part of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship & Public Service at Tufts University. This partnership is funded by a grant from the Democracy Fund.

The Call

We are looking for articles on youth and political engagement accessible to a broad audience. We seek contributions from political scientists and scholars in other relevant fields at all stages in their careers. The majority of selected articles will be posted before the end of the 2016 calendar year; however, we are open to proposals that use data collected in 2016 for posting in the first half of 2017. . . . .”


This NPR article is more interesting to me than most because it lays out the specific issues related to the youth vote. The state by state review is also interesting. The youth vote is going to be particularly important in 2016, I feel sure, because of the generally more liberal tendencies of the young, and the fact that many of them are solidly behind Sanders. That’s the reason, of course why some states restrict ease of access for out of state college voters.

This article points to some issues which are important, such as the number of colleges within the state, the participation by younger people and minorities, same day registration, online registration, and especially preregistration, which I had never encountered before this article. One thing I love about doing this blog is that it gives me a much closer attention to what’s happening across the country and the world. I do hope that this stronger influence by Millennials will bring in a victory for Sanders, or at least for a Democrat. I can’t stand the thought of Donald Trump in any position at all within the government.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/who-are-the-billionaires-bernie-sanders-likes/

Who are the billionaires Bernie Sanders likes?
By KYLIE ATWOOD CBS NEWS
February 24, 2016, 8:17 AM

Play VIDEO -- Spike Lee endorses Bernie Sanders in radio ad

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Walmart to give pay raises to most of its workers


Bernie Sanders has made one thing abundantly clear in his campaign: He's not the candidate for the billionaires or Wall Street. But on Tuesday night at a CNN town hall just days before the South Carolina primary, he may have surprised some by saying that he doesn't despise all the rich.

"Look, there are great billionaires. People who are serious," Sanders said when asked if there were any whom he admires. "I don't agree with everything that Bill Gates has done, but you know, this is a guy who has made massive investments in education and health care around the world. He's not just sitting on his money. He's trying to make the world a better place."

In contrast with Gates, Sanders often vilifies the billionaire Walton family, the founders of Wal-Mart. Their name comes up often in his stump speech: he claims the "starvation wages" they pay force Wal-Mart employees to go on welfare.

But Sanders said he does not have a "personal vendetta" against people with a lot of money.

Still, many of the Vermont senator's plans would be funded by taxing the wealthy. At the town hall, a banker in the audience asked how Sanders would make a difference and where the money is coming from.

"I'm going to pay for that through a tax on Wall Street speculation. When Wall Street collapsed because of their greed, you know what? You bailed them out. Now I think maybe it's time for Wall Street to help the middle class," Sanders explained.

The Vermont senator also bashed the recent insistence of Senate Republicans that a Supreme Court nominee appointed by President Obama would not be given a confirmation hearing.

"What you are seeing today in this Supreme Court situation is nothing more than the continuous and unprecedented obstructionism that President Obama has gone through," Sanders said. He then named one justice he had great admiration for: the first African-American on the bench, appointed by John F. Kennedy.

"Thurgood Marshall was a damn good Supreme Court justice," he added.

Cigarette companies also took a beating from Sanders on Tuesday night.

"They go into countries and they come up with these colorful packages and they have these pretty girls literally giving out -- like heroin dealers, literally giving out cigarettes to kids to get them hooked on nicotine," Sanders said.

Sanders also shared a more personal anecdote - which is rare for him -- when he talked about cigarettes.

"My dad smoked two or three packs a day. I remember him like it was yesterday, going before -- waking up in the morning and coughing and coughing and coughing. He died young and cigarettes certainly contributed to that," Sanders said, connecting to the questioner, Dave Sprung, the student at Fuhrman University, whose own father had died of lung cancer.

Near the end of the town hall Sanders talked about what it means to have the support of the everyday Americans he has met on the campaign trail. These are the people that he wants to fight for, against those who are "abusing power that they have."

"It scares me very much," Sanders said. "If I ever let those people down it would be a terrible, terrible thing."


"I'm going to pay for that through a tax on Wall Street speculation. When Wall Street collapsed because of their greed, you know what? You bailed them out. Now I think maybe it's time for Wall Street to help the middle class," Sanders explained. The Vermont senator also bashed the recent insistence of Senate Republicans that a Supreme Court nominee appointed by President Obama would not be given a confirmation hearing. "What you are seeing today in this Supreme Court situation is nothing more than the continuous and unprecedented obstructionism that President Obama has gone through," Sanders said.”

Everything I’ve heard about Sanders’ statements is directly in line with my views, so it’s impossible for me to prefer anyone over him. He has the most personal honor, generosity of viewpoint and sharp intelligence on the scene right now in my view. I would like for him to run for President with Elizabeth Warren as his VP. She’s a good Democrat, too. Clinton is basically “a good Democrat,” but I really don’t like the fact that she voted for the totally unnecessary war in Iraq and is too closely linked with Wall Street. I understand that there are Democrats who have taken money from the arch villains, the Koch Brothers, and I do hope she isn’t one of them. I also don’t think she has been 100% honest in general down through her career. So, it’s Bernie for me! Onward and upward!


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/marco-rubio-blasts-ted-cruzs-military-style-roundup-of-illegal-immigrants/

Marco Rubio blasts Ted Cruz's "military-style roundup" of illegal immigrants
By REENA FLORES CBS NEWS
February 24, 2016, 7:59 AM

Play VIDEO -- Ted Cruz demands staffer resign over false Rubio video


Coming off a distant second-place finish in Nevada's Republican caucuses, Marco Rubio joined "CBS This Morning" to discuss his campaign future and to take a jab at the recent immigration proposals of his closest rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

"Bottom line is I don't think this country supports -- and I do not -- military-style tactics," Rubio said early Wednesday. He also slammed Cruz's proposals as "a change of position" for the senator because Cruz is "under duress in this campaign."

Rubio was referring to Cruz's statements earlier this week where the Texas senator insisted that he would send Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to round up any immigrants in the United States illegally -- not just those who have committed crimes. Cruz's positions echoed those of GOP front-runner Donald Trump, who has promised that he would deport all undocumented immigrants during his presidency.

"I do think we're gonna enforce the law," Rubio said. "There are people that are going to be deported. There are people who are being deported now. If you're here illegally in this country and you have a deportation order, you are going to be deported, especially if you are a dangerous criminal."

"But," he added, "I don't think this country is going to support -- nor do I think we need to pursue -- a military-style roundup of people in America."

Instead, Rubio advocated for immigration policies that were "reasonable and responsible," including securing the U.S.-Mexico border.

During his interview, Rubio also cautioned that it was still too early to crown a GOP nominee, even after Tuesday night's Nevada caucuses, where Trump dominated over the rest of the Republican pack.

"It's important to take a deep breath here," Rubio said. "It's not based on how many states you win -- it's based on how many delegates you picked up."

The Florida senator pointed out that several more states would be voting between the end of February and the middle of March, and that there were "plenty of states out there that -- in the winner-take-all category -- that if you win them, you more than catch up." He assured viewers that "we'll win in Florida now that Gov. Bush is no longer in the race."

Of Jeb Bush, who dropped out of the White House race shortly after polls closed in South Carolina's Republican primary Saturday night, Rubio said he has spoken to his former mentor. But, he added, "we haven't discussed an endorsement."



I’m not going to vote for any Republican, but if Rubio or Bush were to win I wouldn’t be devastated. I think they both have a basically good character and a logical mind. However, Trump and Cruz are, in my humble view, “slithy toves,” as Lewis Carrol said.

https://www.wordnik.com/words/slithy
Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
adj. A nonce word in Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky combining the senses of "slimy" and "lithe".

Etymologies
Blend of slimy and lithe (Wiktionary)

https://www.wordnik.com/words/toves, From Alice: Alice remarked thoughtfully: 'and what are "toves"?'
John Lundberg: The Poems You Loved As A Kid (Yes, You Did!)
'Well, "toves" are something like badgers - they're something like lizards - and they're something like corkscrews.'’ If you ask a silly question you get a silly answer, as my father was fond of saying.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-court-clears-ex-gov-rick-perry-of-final-felony-charge/

Texas court clears ex-Gov. Rick Perry of final felony charge
AP February 24, 2016, 10:57 AM

Play VIDEO -- Rick Perry drops out, takes shots at Trump
Related -- Rick Perry to Donald Trump: You, me, pull-up contest


AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas' highest criminal court tossed the second and final felony charge against former Gov. Rick Perry on Wednesday, likely ending a case the Republican says helped sink his short-lived 2016 presidential bid.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed the abuse-of-power charge, which was filed after Perry threatened - and then carried out - a veto of state funding for a group of public corruption prosecutors after the Democratic head of the unit refused to resign.

A lower appeals court dismissed the other charge, coercion by a public servant, in July.

The longest-serving governor in Texas history, Perry left office in January 2015 while facing a felony indictment handed down the previous summer by a grand jury in Austin, a liberal bastion in otherwise mostly deeply conservative Texas.

Perry made just one court appearance in the case, which stems from 2013, when Perry publicly threatened to veto $7.5 million in state funding for Public Integrity Unit prosecutors. His move came after Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, who headed the investigative group, rebuffed Perry's calls to resign after she was convicted and jailed for drunken driving.

Perry dismissed the case as a "political witch hunt," while legal scholars from across the political spectrum raised objections about it. Still, the Republican judge overseeing the case repeatedly refused to throw it out on constitutional grounds, prompting Perry's appeals.

Michael McCrum, the San Antonio-based special prosecutor who secured Perry's indictment, long maintained that the matter was built on evidence - not politics - and deserved to go to trial. He can appeal, but that would be a lengthy process. Combined, the original charges carried a potential maximum penalty of 109 years in prison.

Despite his legal problems, Perry formally announced he was running for president in early June, hoping to convince GOP primary voters he deserved a second chance after his 2012 bid was undone by a series of public gaffes. But his second White House campaign lasted barely three months, and Perry formally dropped out of the race in September.

The former governor spent more than $2 million on top defense lawyers. His latest White House campaign raised barely half that much in its first month, and it quickly became so cash-strapped that it could no longer afford to pay staffers in key states with early presidential primaries or caucuses.

Perry blamed the criminal indictment for his sluggish fundraising. But polls showed he was badly trailing in the race despite numerous visits to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He was the first candidate leave a GOP field jammed with 17 presidential hopefuls at the time.



“The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed the abuse-of-power charge, which was filed after Perry threatened - and then carried out - a veto of state funding for a group of public corruption prosecutors after the Democratic head of the unit refused to resign. A lower appeals court dismissed the other charge, coercion by a public servant, in July. The longest-serving governor in Texas history, Perry left office in January 2015 while facing a felony indictment handed down the previous summer by a grand jury in Austin, a liberal bastion in otherwise mostly deeply conservative Texas. …. Perry dismissed the case as a "political witch hunt," while legal scholars from across the political spectrum raised objections about it. Still, the Republican judge overseeing the case repeatedly refused to throw it out on constitutional grounds, prompting Perry's appeals. …. The former governor spent more than $2 million on top defense lawyers. His latest White House campaign raised barely half that much in its first month, and it quickly became so cash-strapped that it could no longer afford to pay staffers in key states with early presidential primaries or caucuses.”

Having beaucoup dollars and spending them won’t necessarily win an election, but perhaps it will buy acquittal at a court trial. Of course, a drunken driving charge could be legitimate grounds for a forced resignation, but the elimination of a Democrat led group by vetoing its funding was considered to be an abuse of his power. I personally believe that the liberal leaning of the group of prosecutors was probably the real cause of his veto. If I understand the courts correctly, the Austin lawyers may be able to appeal the lower court’s decision to the Supreme Court. I don’t care at all for Perry. He was in the news a year or so ago for his view that state biology textbooks should not teach evolution. I want education to be rigorously accurate. Religion should not dictate how a school presents a scholarly subject.



https://www.yahoo.com/politics/kasich-women-who-left-their-kitchens-204507982.html

Kasich thanks women ‘who left their kitchens’ to support him
No writer named
February 22, 2016

Image -- Gov. John Kasich of Ohio addresses a town hall event in Fairfax, Va., on Monday. (Photo: Jim Bourg/Reuters)


Ohio Gov. John Kasich faced some real-time criticism on the campaign trail in Virginia on Monday, when he praised the support he once received from women “who left their kitchens” to support him the first time he ran for public office.

“How did I get elected?” the Republican hopeful asked a crowd at George Mason University in Fairfax. “We just got an army of people, who — and many women — who left their kitchens to go out and go door-to-door and to put yard signs up for me.”

Kasich was elected to the Ohio state senate in 1978.

“All the way back, when, you know, things were different,” he said. “Now, you call homes and everybody’s out working. But at that time, early days, it was an army of the women that really helped me get elected.”

Later, in a Q&A with the audience, a woman who identified herself as a nursing student at the school prefaced a question by chastising the Ohio governor for his remarks.

“Your comment earlier about the women coming out of the kitchen to support you — I’ll come support you, but I won’t be coming out of the kitchen,” she said, to applause.

“I gotcha, I gotcha,” Kasich replied.

Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols tried to downplay the governor’s comments.

“John Kasich’s campaigns have always been homegrown affairs,” Nichols said in a statement to NBC News. “They’ve literally been run out of his friends’ kitchens, and many of his early campaign teams were made up of stay-at-home moms who believed deeply in the changes he wanted to bring to them and their families. That’s real grassroots campaigning, and he’s proud of that authentic support. To try and twist his comments into anything else is just desperate politics.”

Kasich himself later apologized.

“Sure, I’m sorry,” Kasich told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. Anybody who’s offended, of course. I’m not — look. Of course, I’m more than happy to say I’m sorry if I offended somebody out there, but it wasn’t intended to be offensive.“

"Sometimes when you operate on the high wire without a net, you’ll fall off and not say things exactly the way you want to,” he said. “But let me be clear: The beginning of my campaign for public office, I did town halls. Except they were in people’s homes. They were at breakfast tables, they were during — at evening when we had coffee, and I recruited people. And I want to be clear: We had a lot of women that played a major role in my political campaign.”

On this point, Kasich appears to be right.

In 1978, when Kasich mounted his state senate run, just 33 percent of women aged 16 to 64 worked full-time in the United States, according to a survey published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2013, that figure was over 53 percent.

And women continue to volunteer at a higher rate than men “across all age groups, educational levels and other major demographic characteristics,” according to a BLS report released last year. About 28 percent of women volunteered in 2014, the survey found, compared to 22 percent of men.

Still, it’s not the first time the Ohio Republican’s tongue has gotten him into trouble this cycle.

At a town hall event at the University of Richmond in October, Kasich called on a female student during a Q&A.

But before she could ask a question, Kasich quipped: “I’m sorry, I don’t have any Taylor Swift tickets.”

The student, Kayla Solsbak, penned an open letter to Kasich that was published in the school’s newspaper the next day.

The title: “No, John Kasich, I don’t want Taylor Swift tickets.

“I didn’t go to a town hall forum for Taylor Swift tickets, Gov. Kasich,” she wrote. “I went because it’s my civic duty to be an informed voter. Please start treating me like one.”



“And I want to be clear: We had a lot of women that played a major role in my political campaign.” On this point, Kasich appears to be right. In 1978, when Kasich mounted his state senate run, just 33 percent of women aged 16 to 64 worked full-time in the United States, according to a survey published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2013, that figure was over 53 percent.”

Kasich seems to me to be a bright and gentlemanly man, and he probably didn’t “mean to be offensive.” The fact that he was recruiting all these housewives in the height of the politically important women’s movement does show, to me, that he had a case of tunnel vision. Maybe that is part of what being a conservative is all about.



https://www.yahoo.com/katiecouric/jose-antonio-vargas-donald-trump-is-fact-less-204525513.html

Jose Antonio Vargas: Donald Trump is ‘factless and inaccurate’
By Alex Bregman
February 22, 2016

Video – Who Wins The Latino Vote In 2016?


Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas spoke to Yahoo News and Finance Anchor Bianna Golodryga about Hillary Clinton’s win in the Nevada caucuses, Donald Trump’s rise in the GOP and his new project called EmergingUS, a media company that seeks to offer in-depth reporting on race, immigration and the emerging American identity.

Regarding the exit polls showing Bernie Sanders won a larger share of the Latino vote in Nevada than Clinton, Vargas referred back to Clinton’s popularity among Latinos in 2008, when he covered her presidential campaign. “Bernie Sanders and his team have done a really good job in reaching out to the new generation of Latino organizers,” he said.

Vargas noted that despite the Latino turnout, Clinton still emerged victorious in Nevada. “I have to say that what’s really lacking in the way we talk about Nevada is the Asian vote,” he said. “Entrance polls showed that the Asian vote was at least 5 percent of the turnout. Hillary won by 6 points.” He believes that the Clinton camp did a better job of outreach to Asian voters than the Bernie Sanders camp.

Commenting on Clinton’s immigration policy, Vargas, an undocumented immigrant himself, pointed out that Clinton has been aggressive in her outreach to the undocumented community because of her husband’s immigration policy. Vargas said: “In some ways, Bill Clinton’s record on immigration is incredibly problematic. The criminalization of immigrants in this country started in many ways with the Clinton administration. If it wasn’t for the Clinton administration, we would not have needed a DREAM Act.” He continued: “I’m here illegally without authorization. If I leave, I would have to face a 10-year bar to try to come back. That 10-year bar came from the Clinton administration.”

Vargas has so far declined to endorse anyone from the 2016 field. “I’m not supporting a specific candidate,” he told Golodryga. “All I want are facts. It’s astounding to me to see the rise of Donald Trump, and to see how he has done that on the back of illegal immigration and the fact that so much of what he talks about is just factless and inaccurate. How can we just let him do that?”

Vargas continued: “I think as journalists we are now facing a moral imperative in this country that we have to see immigration not as a policy or a political issue, but as a moral issue. The way Donald Trump talks about this is not only highly immoral, but it’s also highly irresponsible and very hurtful.”

Vargas did point out that this could all backfire on him. He said, “Donald Trump is doing an incredible job of mobilizing a lot of Latinos to make sure that they’re registering to vote and that they turn out in November.”

In comparing Trump to Sanders, Vargas said: “Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are the opposite sides of the same coin. They’re appealing to Americans who are angry about where we are. And why wouldn’t we be?”

Vargas said he appreciates Trump’s candidacy in certain respects: “I am actually thankful for Donald Trump. I am thankful that he’s showing us what we know has always existed. Now it has a face. Now it has a name. Now that we know it’s there, the question is how do we confront it? How do we talk about it?” He continued: “Donald Trump to me is not a surprise. In some ways he was a tornado that was waiting to happen, and we’re seeing it go all across the country. The question is how is this new emerging majority going to rise up and say, ‘No, sir!’”

Vargas said that his new company is trying to do just that: “EmergingUS is the largest crowdfunding campaign of journalism in the history of America. We’re trying to raise $1 million so that we can actually counter this narrative of what has been out there.”


“He believes that the Clinton camp did a better job of outreach to Asian voters than the Bernie Sanders camp. …. Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are the opposite sides of the same coin. They’re appealing to Americans who are angry about where we are. And why wouldn’t we be?” Vargas said he appreciates Trump’s candidacy in certain respects: “I am actually thankful for Donald Trump. I am thankful that he’s showing us what we know has always existed. Now it has a face. …. “Donald Trump to me is not a surprise. In some ways he was a tornado that was waiting to happen, and we’re seeing it go all across the country. The question is how is this new emerging majority going to rise up and say, ‘No, sir!’”


I am sorry to say that Bernie Sanders hasn’t been as strongly outspoken in his support of minority groups in general, and it can’t be said that his “outreach” to them has been as broad as it should have been. I still haven’t heard of his mentioning the LGBT community, though he has corrected his lack of attention to blacks under a bit of pressure. I don’t think he dislikes blacks or any other group. His publicly voiced views, however, are 90% about the massive economic divide in the whole country and our horribly high poverty statistics specifically, no matter what the race or religion. It was disturbing to me when the BLM, twice at least, confronted him about his apparent lack of interest in specifically racial issues. If black people are successfully brought out of poverty, they will in fact become higher achievers. Intelligence is about the brain, but achievement is about work.

I see both sides. I do agree with Sanders that a widespread and persistent lack of money has plagued the black population for decades as had a wall of racial hatred, causing them to become the dreaded “Underclass.” That eliminates much of their personal drive for educational and business-oriented achievement, and unfortunately a life goal of at least the commonest personal virtues. Problems like drug addiction do hold them down also, and that’s a psychiatric problem. We must have mental health rather than prison for drug users, and minimal sentences along with social rehabilitation for those who actually sell drugs. That isn’t necessarily a violent crime, though it sometimes is.

“Ya gotta” speak in the way that the white Middle Class does, eat well at the table, “blend” with all groups, wear well-chosen clothes, etc., but not necessarily expensive ones -- nobody needs a $100 pair of shoes. That does look a lot like “acting white,” which is of course despicable, right?. I believe black kids don’t study as they should, partly because they have no hope and often a lack of parental guidance. Many whites think that black kids simply aren’t very bright, but I know better. That’s just one of those uneducated mainly white viewpoints. They don’t see how they can afford to go to a well-respected college, so they focus on winning an athletic scholarship instead.

Add to that a group cultural bias that their following a path of worldly achievement in these ways is not being loyal to their racial traditions. Such blacks have called Obama “not black enough!” The fact that those blacks, who do choose to study, end up as lawyers and doctors is either unknown to them, or it doesn’t seem possible in their individual cases. Most lower Middle Class kids have to get scholarships, loans and work study positions also. College is expensive. That’s why I was so happy to hear that Obama favors free Community College, and Sanders, free tuition at all state funded universities. Private colleges are always more expensive, but not necessarily any better academically, so to me that’s a waste of good money.

Group Think is in lots of ways a more deadly thing than cancer. That’s what holds “the underclass” together. They think they will win with marches and too often riots, but the way up and out is in the final analysis, internal instead of external. Voting for our causes, studying, and becoming a lawyer or minister or legislator or teacher are the ways up and out. I don’t by any means think that people who aren’t high level professionals are to be despised, but they probably won’t have much money either. If you want to get out of low grade housing in dangerous neighborhoods, it will take a good job and some considerable frugality. Well employed working stiffs make more money over a lifetime than the best car thieves do. I asked a black woman whom I know pretty well why she didn’t finish college and she said she got pregnant and decided to marry instead. She has since had five children, and has always worked at cleaning hotel rooms, but I can tell by talking to her that she is definitely smart. That pattern didn’t have to happen, if she had had a different view of life.

Many modern young black and Hispanic people are full of hostility toward whites to the extent that they opt for negativity in their whole attitude, and refuse to “act white” by studying harder -- or pulling up their blink blank pants! Of course there’s more to it. If their parents didn’t go to school very long and can’t read well either, then they won’t learn at home to speak with a good vocabulary, grammar and diction within the home, probably won’t have good books to read, won’t be encouraged strongly to do their darned homework before shooting baskets or bonding with a dangerous street gang. All of that together means the kids won’t be on a path to learning to value education and become what I tend to call “a good citizen.” “Boosting cars” will be just fine.

The same is true for white kids who grow up in poverty, too, of course. When I was young there was a set of poor white kids who tended to be rougher on the playground, end up pregnant, and were often school dropouts. That’s where a lot of the rightist trend in our society now comes from. People who don’t go to college or even do well in high school are likely to be more intolerant of outsiders, resentful in general and untrusting of the whole college based career path. They will get a job as a construction worker, drink beer with their peers at the neighborhood bar, etc., maybe even join a White Supremacist group, and it’s largely because they have no personal hope of achieving in academic areas.

Now if the parents are solidly Middle Class or wealthy, the children will be much more likely to grow up expecting to go to Yale or Harvard, travel to Europe, go to a prep school and have a 4.0 average. Everybody used to say that Asian kids are smarter than white kids, but there was a very interesting documentary on their home rearing and they were punished and shamed for failing in school. I don’t believe in that, but if parents aren’t actively involved in their kids’ study patterns, they are very likely to go running around with their friends instead, and perhaps get into some form of criminality. Teenaged kids tend to want excitement over a dull routine that will in the end get them farther in the world. I personally believe that kids do not have to be brilliant to do well in school if they really try hard enough. Their success path won’t be as high, perhaps, but they can still end up getting a reasonably lucrative job, and if they start their own business, do much better than that.




ANTISEMITISM AGAIN IN THE US


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/chicago-music-teacher-suspended-over-youtube-rants/

Chicago music teacher suspended over YouTube rants
CBS/AP
February 23, 2016, 3:43 PM

YouTube video – the rant and aftermath


CHICAGO - A Chicago music teacher is suspended after videos surfaced on YouTube that are offensive to Jews, Muslims and individuals who are transgender.

Students told CBS Chicago are conflicted about the posts as Chicago Public Schools investigates.

In one of the videos, Daniel Berry lashes out at Jews, referring "rabbis who curl their hair to make them look like serpents." In another video, he uses language derogatory to transgender individuals.

Sources confirm Berry is suspended, pending the outcome of an internal CPS investigation.

"CPS is committed to ensuring all employees meet the District's high standards for personal and professional conduct," the school system said in a prepared statement.

CBS Chicago reached out to Berry and the Chicago Teachers Union but did not hear back.


“In one of the videos, Daniel Berry lashes out at Jews, referring "rabbis who curl their hair to make them look like serpents." In another video, he uses language derogatory to transgender individuals. Sources confirm Berry is suspended, pending the outcome of an internal CPS investigation. "CPS is committed to ensuring all employees meet the District's high standards for personal and professional conduct," the school system said in a prepared statement.” I’m sorry to see this popping up in a high school, because teachers are pretty well educated people and should be above this. Of course it could be a matter of his religious views, but it’s still ignorant. It is unfortunately possible to go all the way through college without learning the civilizing lessons that are offered there.


SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mobile-phone-apps-malware-risks-how-to-prevent-hacking-breach/

Beware downloading some apps or risk "being spied on"
CBS NEWS
February 24, 2016, 7:00 AM


Popular apps on your smartphone can be convenient and fun, but some also carry malicious software known as malware, which gives hackers easy access to your personal information.

A security firm found that between 75 and 80 percent of the top free apps on Android phones or iPhones were breached. The number jumps as high as 97 percent among the top paid apps on those devices.

Whether these apps help advertisers target you or help hackers rip you off, you'll want to do your homework before downloading apps, reports CBS News correspondent Anna Werner.

California's Susan Harvey said she was a victim after she used a debit card to download a slot machine game app to her cell phone through a Google Play store account.

"It was something you purchased once, for like $15," Harvey said.

When she went to reload the game, she found hundreds of purchases had been made -- by her math, more than $5,000 worth of transactions.

"My heart sank, I just sat there looking at it... I physically, I was sick, because I didn't know what they were," Harvey said.

That story's no surprise to cybersecurity expert Gary Miliefsky, whose company SnoopWall tracks malware. He said certain apps are designed to steal your personal information.

"What are the consequences for me as a consumer?" Werner asked.

"You're gonna lose your identity. You're gonna wonder why there was a transaction. You're gonna wonder how someone got into your bank account and paid a bill that doesn't exist," Miliefsky said.

Milifesky said when you download an app, you also give permission for it to access other parts of your phone, like an alarm clock app that can also track phone calls.

"You think an alarm clock needs all those permissions? Access to the Internet over wifi, your call information, calls you've made, call history, your device ID? This to me is not a safe alarm clock," Miliefsky said.

And there's the weather and flashlight apps that he says exploit legitimate banking apps to capture information, as he showed us in a demonstration of what could happen when someone takes a photo of a check to send to their bank.

"The flashlight app spies on the camera and noticed the check and grabbed a copy of it. Shipped it off to a server somewhere far away," Miliefsky said.

Last year the group FireEye discovered 11 malware apps being used on iPhones that gathered users' sensitive information and send it to a remote server, including text messages, Skype calls, contacts and photos Apple fought back by removing the apps and putting stricter security measures in place.

"They get at your GPS, your contacts list...to build a profile on you," Miliefsky said.

Some apps are simply collecting information for advertising purposes. In 2014, the Federal Trade Commission settled a lawsuit with a company over its popular Brightest Flashlight app, alleging it transmitted consumers' personal information to third parties without telling them.

But Miliefsky said he's found another flashlight app that can do much more troubling things.

"This one turns on your microphone in the background, listens in on you, and sends an encrypted tunnel to a server we discovered in Beijing," Miliefsky described.

"You're saying that they're actually listening to people's conversations and sending that audio back to Beijing?" Werner asked.

"Yeah, we've tracked it. I can show you where it does it," he said.

Miliefsky said it can be traced to a few blocks from Tiananmen Square on Information Drive in Beijing.

He gave a report on that app to the FBI.

"Because to me, it's spyware at the nth degree," Miliefsky said.

His recommendation?

"We really have to look at our phone and say, 'This is really a personal computer that fits in our pocket. Let's shut down all the apps we don't use. Let's delete apps that don't make sense and reduce the risk of being spied on,'" Miliefsky said.

The creator of the Brightest Flashlight app settled with the FTC, agreeing to change its policy and delete all the information it had gathered.

Harvey sued Google over her alleged hack, but a judge recently dismissed it, saying she and her attorney filed too late. Google said fewer than one percent of Android devices got bad apps in 2014.


“That story's no surprise to cybersecurity expert Gary Miliefsky, whose company SnoopWall tracks malware. He said certain apps are designed to steal your personal information. …. Milifesky said when you download an app, you also give permission for it to access other parts of your phone, like an alarm clock app that can also track phone calls. …. And there's the weather and flashlight apps that he says exploit legitimate banking apps to capture information, as he showed us in a demonstration of what could happen when someone takes a photo of a check to send to their bank. …. Last year the group FireEye discovered 11 malware apps being used on iPhones that gathered users' sensitive information and send it to a remote server, including text messages, Skype calls, contacts and photos Apple fought back by removing the apps and putting stricter security measures in place. …. But Miliefsky said he's found another flashlight app that can do much more troubling things. "This one turns on your microphone in the background, listens in on you, and sends an encrypted tunnel to a server we discovered in Beijing," Miliefsky described. …. He gave a report on that app to the FBI. "Because to me, it's spyware at the nth degree," Miliefsky said.”


Luckily I don’t buy stuff except in the case of Amazon and a couple of others, and I don’t do banking online. I also try not to click on those intriguing little ads and fake articles – Obama is gay, etc. My Internet watchdog Webroot gives me a warning every now and then, if I hit on a site that is booby trapped in some way, and offers to “get me out of here right now.” That’s cute, and it gets my attention.

Personally, I love the Internet, but I respect it’s dark side. It’s really fascinating, but like the Florida Everglades, it’s full of crocodilians, bears, Florida panthers and now thanks to some clueless animal lover, pythons. (They bought the snake when it was only a foot long, and it was so cute!) The old saw, “buyer beware” rules in the laws behind the Internet, and I’m not personally interested in too many Big Brother overtones to the situation. I do want dangerous sites to be removed – child pornography, etc., in which a creepy man somewhere goes to a website and tries to lure a kid into meeting him at a park. I would also like to see ISIS, the KKK, and other hard core bad boys removed. I don’t believe that their “right to free speech” should trump basic good vs evil issues. All in all, however, just like life in general, it’s as we used to say in the 70s, “a mixed bag,” and I accept its drawbacks in order to be able to Wikipedia, NIH, etc., and above all CBS.




http://www.fox23.com/news/parasites-from-contact-lenses/94619375

Parasites from contact lenses?
by: Michelle Linn
Updated: Feb 19, 2016 - 7:35 PM


Contact lenses could be putting your eyes at risk.

But it’s not the contact lenses, it’s what users do while wearing them. FOX23’s Michelle Linn learned that swimming, showering, or sleeping in contracts attracts a parasite that could eat eyeballs.

“I'm 57 years old, you know, and I never thought I’d end up at a point where I would have to lose an eye,” said Oze McCallum, who lost an eye to the parasite.

He's a victim of a tiny organism seen only with a powerful microscope, called an acanthamoeba.

“I've cried over it and I’ve been angry over it, I’ve shaken my first and said ‘Why is this happening to me?’” he said.

Doctors are convinced that his contact lenses were the parasite's welcome mat.

FOX23 went to the office of Tulsa eye surgeon Dr. Ryan Conley to find out how common it is. He said too many patients are spending too much time wearing their contacts.

“There’s certain contacts approved for sleeping in, people lose track of time, sleep in far beyond the recommended duration,” said Conley.

A report published by the Centers for Disease Control a few months ago shows that the agency is tracking several multi-state eye infection outbreaks, including the acanthamoeba.

Lead researcher Dr. Jennifer Cope, who published the report, said it comes down to how users take care of their contact lenses.

“It was very disconcerting that almost all of the people we asked had at least one risky behavior,” Cope said.

They found that 50 percent of those surveyed said they'd slept overnight in their contacts, 85 percent have showered in them and 35percent rinse their lenses in tap water.

“When you expose your lens to water, you’re potentially putting yourself at risk,” Cope said.

Inserting your lenses with wet hands, even washing your lens case with water, invites the bug.

“Acanthamoeba is always in the back of our minds as causing an infection, while it is not common when it does occur it can be devastating,” said Conley.

No one is sure exactly how McCallum got infected. He lost his eye.

He said he’s not in pain, but now he’s wearing a prosthetic and learning to live with just one eye.

“Maybe my story can help somebody else not have to go through what I’m going through, then maybe there's a reason for it,” he said.

The CDC says users should:
• Change contact lens cases every three months.
• Don’t top off your contact lens solution; dump it and replace it every night.
• Do not sleep in your contact lenses.
• Keep contacts and drinking water far apart.

Read the full CDC report here.



“FOX23’s Michelle Linn learned that swimming, showering, or sleeping in contracts attracts a parasite that could eat eyeballs. “I'm 57 years old, you know, and I never thought I’d end up at a point where I would have to lose an eye,” said Oze McCallum, who lost an eye to the parasite. He's a victim of a tiny organism seen only with a powerful microscope, called an acanthamoeba. …. “There’s certain contacts approved for sleeping in, people lose track of time, sleep in far beyond the recommended duration,” said Conley. A report published by the Centers for Disease Control a few months ago shows that the agency is tracking several multi-state eye infection outbreaks, including the acanthamoeba. Lead researcher Dr. Jennifer Cope, who published the report, said it comes down to how users take care of their contact lenses. …. “When you expose your lens to water, you’re potentially putting yourself at risk,” Cope said. Inserting your lenses with wet hands, even washing your lens case with water, invites the bug.”


I have met amoebas a couple of times, along with a number of other tiny, cute critters. My favorite is the hydra and one called a rotifer, whose name undoubtedly comes from the word "rotate." It is a very graceful thing, was swimming in a drop of water on my microscope slide by whirling around and around in a spiral. I personally like all kinds of animals, including some which if they get in our bodies can make us sick.

I do very carefully see to it that, if a public service announcement has been made that the tap water is not safe to drink or bathe in, I will boil it or add a little chlorine bleach, and I would only do that if I were in the middle of a hurricane power blackout or camping in the woods where I had no bottled water.

When I was a girl I was in a scout troop, one of the things we were told is how to make safe drinking water from the average clear and freely running stream. If US society breaks down due to the stresses of global warming and I ever have to live outdoors, I will remember that. As for contact lenses, I have never been able to get past the fact that it means putting a piece of plastic into my eye. I’m not willing to do that. I’ll stick with my unromantic bifocals.